The King of Spades
by crazyCANDYlovinLESBO
Summary: This is a complicated fic to summarize. It's a cross between TVD/Paranormal Entity/Wizard of Oz. Yes. A strange group, right? But it's twisted. And nothing like the plots for any of the fandoms listed above. Not super graphic, but still gets creepy at times.
1. Chapter 1

**_This is my twisted version of a crossover between TVD and the Wizard of Oz. It's a horror fic, so readers beware. _**

Jenna woke to the faintest of sun rays spilling in through the half open window in their bedroom.. A faint smile graced her lips when she heard the muffled whispers of father and daughter beneath the plush white comforter, a sound she'd become all too familiar with since Jess had reached about a year and a half in age.

"Shh!" She heard the 4 year old mumble, and all went silent. Taking in a deep breath and opening her eyes, Jenna lifted the comforter and craned her neck to the side to peer in and find the two of them huddled up together, Alaric clearly half asleep and Jess about as awake as humanly possible. "Mommy!" The girl flung out from under the comforter and attacked Jenna in a tight hug, landing a poorly aimed and rather sloppy kiss to the corner of her lips, eliciting a faint giggle from Jenna.

"Morning, baby." She mumbled out, her voice low and hoarse from sleep. She felt the noticeable shift in the mattress as Alaric emerged from beneath the blanket and perched himself beside them on his elbow.

"Morning, mommy." Ric says, leaning down and kissing Jenna on the lips. She felt them tug up just barely once again, and suddenly she was struck with the familiar realization that this is exactly what she'd always wanted. A life with the man she loved, an adorable little girl who could sometimes be more mischief than innocence but was still worth it all the same, and a strong sense of family and belonging. Sure, she'd felt it with her sister as kids, and on the rare occasions that her parents returned home. But that had all been sporadic reminders that she wasn't actually alone, and hadn't been enough to keep her from rebelling. But this was like a constant hum in the back of her mind, a perfect melody that never ended.

She felt it in the tips of her fingers and toes. The perfection, the love, the utter sense of family. And it made her so happy, there were moments when she swore she would cry of pure amazement. Of course, she'd shared this with Ric on many accounts. When they'd learned that Jess would be coming into their lives, it had been particularly present. And she hadn't been able to contain the tears of joy that streaked from her eyes and ruined his cerulean blue button down shirt.

"How did you sleep?" She asked in response.

"Good. Until princess woke me up at five AM." Alaric sends a playful glare at Jess, which she simply grins in triumph at and ducks back down under the covers. Jenna giggles at this and pats the young girls head.

"Jess! You know your dad works on the weekdays. You gotta let him sleep in."

Jess huffs in annoyance and sits up, pulling the blanket down off her head. "But mommy! I was bored!" She draws out the 'o' in a very childlike manner and crosses her arms.

"Now who does she remind you of?" Alaric asks, looking pointedly at Jenna, who simply furrows her brows and gives him a look.

"Hey, I'm defending you here. There couldn't be a better way to say 'Thanks, babe, I really appreciate it'?" Alaric just laughs and shakes his head.

"Nope!" He responds, earning a futile pat with the back of Jenna's hand to his shoulder. He chuckles again. "Thanks, babe, I really appreciate it."

Jenna rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I bet you say that to all the girls." He knows she's teasing him still. Because she also knows that the only other girl he's ever been with had been Isobel.

"In fact, I do. Yeah, my girlfriend was over yesterday while you and Jess were at the park. You should have seen the way she-" But he was cut off by the unexpected shriek Jess let out.

"Mommy, daddy's got a girlfriend!" She shouted, still not entirely sure what that meant. But she was smart enough to know it wasn't very different from being married, as Jenna and Alaric were. In response to this, Jenna just laughs and shakes her head.

"She'd better not be going around _my _daughter, then. It could be hazardous to her well being." Jess stares at her mother in shock, her little mouth falling open to form a perfect 'O'.

"Mommy!"

"Well, _maybe_ she just _likes_ to be around _my_ daughter." Alaric bites back playfully.

"Then _maybe_ I'll just take _my _daughter and go live somewhere else while you fool around with this girlfriend." Jenna tosses back at him, taking his obvious struggle for a witty response as a chance to smack the nearest pillow in his face.

The doorbell ringing silences any response Ric can think up. "Who the hell is out knocking on doors at seven in the morning?" He mumbles rhetorically as he rolls out of bed and pads through the hall and down the stairs to the front door. But he isn't able to even reach the knob before a loud, obnoxious pounding resonates through the floor and up into his feet. Ric finds this rather odd. _Who would knock on the floor when the door is right there? _He thinks to himself as he looks down at the floor beneath his feet. But before he can think up a reasonable answer, the entire house lurches and shakes, sending ric stumbling backwards and into the wall across from him.

The shaking wass over in a matter of seconds, and he briefly wondered if he'd simply been imagining things, because nothing in the house seemed to have moved or fallen. It all seemed exactly the same. But the shout that came from upstairs tipped him off that it was not, in fact, his imagination.

"Ric?!" Jenna shouted, not long after she felt the ripples in the house. It had looked as if the walls had turned to liquid, because that's just what it had been. Ripples. She heard the rhythmic thud of his feet on the stairs as he ran up to check on them, and sighed in relief when he had no obvious injuries.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked instinctually as he climbed back onto the bed and examined the now crying four-year-old clinging to her mother's torso with both Jenna's arms wrapped around her, and then Jenna herself.

Jenna nodded faintly and looked at him with a worried expression. "Are you?" He gave a nod of his own and sat back against the headboard. "What the hell _was_ that?" He asked no one in particular. As if reading his mind, Jenna didn't respond. She just looked around the room, not sure if she was looking for an answer or waiting for it to happen again.

Just then, the shrill ring of Jenna's phone sliced through the silence hanging in the air. But it wasn't the normal bells and tone, it was dial tone. She frowned and looked over at the object in question, wondering why the toll would be so different than what she'd had it set on.

"I'll get it." Alaric mumbles numbly as he starts to sit up, but Jenna stops him by wordlessly handing a still sobbing Jess to him and reaching out for it without hesitation.

"Hello?" She asks, for some reason suddenly out of breath. A static-y crackling sounds on the other end before a muffled, scratchy voice comes on.

"_Hello, Jenna. Do you know who I am?" _Jenna's silence must give the hint, because the speaker took a brief pause before continuing. _"I'm the woman who's life you ruined. Because of you, I'm forced to live in exile. I hope you can live with the consequences of what you did…" _Jenna's frown deepened noticeably and she spoke with a defensive tone.

"What consequences?"

"_You will see. In time...you. Will. See." _And then the line went dead. Jenna pulled it away from her face and glared down at the bright screen displaying a picture of her, Jess and Ric smiling and cuddling on the couch.

"Who was it?" Ric asked, his vocal cords sounding stressed and weary.

"I don't know…" Jenna responded. "I think it was a prank call." But at that exact moment, the house began to shake again. Not the quick, barely noticeable but equally vicious shakes from before. These shakes were much heavier and violent, the walls seeming to vibrate with the convulsions and things falling from walls and shelves.

Jess wailed and began to sob loudly, turning her head and burying her face in her dad's chest. "What if it topples over?" Jenna shouts over the loud moaning and creaking of the house as Ric is slipping an arm protectively around her waist and pulling her against him.

"I don't know. But I don't feel like staying to find out!" But it was then that the vibrations finally seized and the house stopped shaking. Jenna looked around frantically and noted that just about everything on the walls and shelves had fallen over this time.

"Neither do I…" Jenna mumbled quietly this time, the sudden fear clear in her shaking voice. So they packed up and left in favor of the Lake House.

_**And there you have it! Chapter one! Please tell me what you think. I'd hate to write this and post it and get so many chapters finished just to have no one give any feedback.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Three weeks later..._

The problems didn't end when they fled their home. In fact, it seemed that that only triggered them more. The walls no longer shook, but it seemed things had gotten much worse than that.

It had started when Jess seemed to be reverting back to her recently passed phase of crying about monsters under her bed. Only now, she claimed they lurked in the corners of her room and whispered terrible things while she slept. At one point, she uttered the words 'Grind up the little ones and turn them into stew' when Ric asked her what sorts of things this monster said. That was the moment her and Jenna knew she wouldn't be sleeping alone anymore.

But it didn't end there. Jenna would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat for no reason. But she wouldn't be laying in her bed. Instead, she would be standing over a very much awake Ric, who later claimed her eyes had gone all black and she'd refused to respond when he'd spoken to her.

When these episodes died down, something else entirely began happening. Jenna would wake up with a start, swearing she could feel someone caressing her skin and whispering things into her ear. But when she opened her eyes, no one would be there.

The day the ritual phone calls began was the same day they left the Lake House and went to stay at the boarding house, hoping it wouldn't follow them there. The phone rang with the normal tone, bells and tone, as they were packing their things. Expecting it to e Elena calling to check it yet again, there was no hesitation when Jenna answered.

A silence greeted her, and she was about to hang up when a barely audible voice whispered _"Can you feel it?" _And just then, a hand gripped her throat from behind. But it was gone just as quickly as it had come, and the line was dead. But she swore she could hear remnants of Logan's laughter echoing in the back of her mind.

Jenna gasped for air, feeling as though she'd been deprived of it for hours, and dropped the phone to the floor. She took multiple steps back until she felt the wall behind her and stopped abruptly. Ric was just zipping up his duffel bag when he heard her intake of air and the phone clatter to the floor. He was by her side as quickly as his human legs would allow, his hands desperately trying to asses for any damage. "Jenna?" He asked, seeming lost and unsure. Her eyes were distant, but she was still there, he could tell.

"I'm fine." She mumbled, but the broken edge in her voice made it clear that she only meant in the physical sense.

"Who. Was that?" Alaric asked, the words coming out in two different sentences for emphasis.

"I...I don't know!" Jenna said, suddenly frantic as she started to hyperventilate. "I don't know, but whoever it is…" She trailed off. How could she explain that she'd choked on air? On nothing?

"What?" Ric asks. "Jenna, whoever it is _what_?"

"I couldn't breathe." She says, tears springing to her eyes. "I couldn't breathe, and there was nothing there! Ric….I don't think this person is _human_." Her bottom lip trembles as the words pass her lips, and she takes in a stuttering breath in a feeble attempt at calming herself. But his arms encircle her then, pulling her against him and holding her tight.

"Bonnie. She can help, she can tell us what this is. Maybe even get rid of it." Jenna nodded at Ric's comment, but her tear filled eyes were locked on her daughter, standing in the doorway with a stuffed elephant clutched to her chest, fearful tears of her own streaking down her face.

_Four hours later… _

The three of them finally arrived at the boarding house. Strangely, the daunting size and shadiness of the place seemed safe, and inviting. Maybe because the places filled with light, and homeyness had proved to be unsafe, and fearsome as of late.

Elena came out to meet them by the car and help unload the trunk. "Who do you think it was?" But Jenna shook her head.

"Not who. _What_. And that's why we need Bonnie here. Whoever it is that's doing this isn't human. And their not a vampire or a werewolf, either. My hunch is that it's a witch of some sort." Elena's brow furrowed.

"You think a witch would do this? _Could_ do this?"

"An extremely powerful one, yes." Alaric responds. "But not just the average everyday witch. Something more than that. Something purely evil." When they walked through the door, Jess ran right up to Damon and smacked his forehead with the palm of her hand as he bent down to hug her.

"What was that for?" He asks, bewildered.

Jess grins innocently and clutches her toy elephant against her chest tighter. "Mommy says someone needs to knock some sense into you. So I told her I'd do it for her."

Jenna laughs and sets the duffel bag down, patting Jess's head as she walks by. "Good girl, Jess!"

To this, Damon simply rolls his eyes and kisses the young girls plump cheek.

_**Chapter 2! We're on a roll! I'm just writing all of these chapters one after another so I don't wind up abandoning my story. I want to see how far I can get before I pass out :P Please review! **_


	3. Chapter 3

_When Jenna woke up the next morning to a perfect night's sleep, she felt that it was finally over and they could go about living a normal life. Well, normal for a vampire hunter and his wife and daughter. But still. _

_She rolled out of bed, noting that neither Jess nor Ric were there-probably because she'd slept in late from her previous lack of sleep-and walked downstairs into the foyer. But as she wandered the vast space, she was met with an eerie emptiness. A feeling of lonesome that simply wouldn't leave her alone. "Hello?" No response. "Anyone home?" Again, she was greeted with silence. _

_The wind whirled past the back of her head and the sound of a shadow passing by caused her to whirl, expecting to see Damon standing in front of his drinks stand and pouring himself a bourbon. Nothing. Panic gripped Jenna's insides, and her breathing grew shallow. "Damon?! Elena?!" More silence. "Alaric!" Nothing but the cool wisp of wind from the window to her left. "Stefan?!" _

_A figure appeared at her right, and she jumped. "Logan?!" The figure smirked. _

"_Jenna Sommers." He appraised her with a hunger that sent chills tingling their way down her spine. "You look…" but he didn't finish. He just looked up at her and smirked. At that very moment, someone passed at her other side and came around to stand behind her. She felt it's hand slowly reach around and grip her throat, cutting off her air supply. _

_She tried to scream, but no sound could be heard. She tried to claw his hand away, but her arms remained limp at her sides. She felt herself fading. "No…" She mumbled out as she felt the life slip from her body. _

"No...no…" Faint whimpers slowly eased Ric out of his slumber, and he was suddenly aware of Jenna sleeping restlessly beside him. She would move and shift and lay there for a moment before uttering another quiet 'No' and turning over again. Quickly, Alaric sat up in bed and scooted the fe inches to her side. He grabbed hold of her shoulders and shook her awake. "Jenna! Jenna, wake up, it's a dream!"

Her eyes flew open and she instantly began coughing and choking as if something had been blocking her airways. Alaric's frown deepened when he looked down and saw a bruise quickly forming in the shape of a..._what the hell is that?! _"Jenna, what were you dreaming about?"

Jenna had calmed down now, and was gently easing herself into a sitting position. "I was alone...or...I wasn't. But when I woke up I was. And Logan was there. And then...then something was choking me...it...I was dying, and…"

"_What_ was choking you?"

"I don't know. I didn't see it, just a shadow walk behind me and then I couldn't breathe...and Logan was just watching me! He was watching me die…" Alaric sighed and once again pulled her into his embrace. Whatever it was that had killed her in her dream, it definitely was _not_ of human embodiment.

_**I know. This chapter is really short. But it's just a filler, so we can move on to the good stuff. Please review! **_


	4. Chapter 4

When Bonnie finally arrived, Jenna and Alaric were still in bed. But Jess was downstairs with Damon and Elena, talking about an imaginary friend of some sort. "What's your elephant's name?" Elena had asked just as Stefan opened the door to let the witch in.

"He doesn't have one." Jess replied.

"Why not?" Damon asked curiously, nonchalantly draping an arm around Elena's shoulders and smiling when she leaned into him.

"Because Trevor doesn't want him to have one." The little girl replied. "He said names aren't supposed to be called to little elephants like this one." Damon's brow furrowed, but he didn't have a chance to ask her what that was supposed to mean before Bonnie and Stefan walked into the room. "Witchy." Damon mumbled distastefully.

Bonnie considered regarding him as 'Dick', but deemed it inappropriate in front of a four-year-old, and settled for ignoring him altogether. "Elena. Jess!" The witch smiled down at the little girl and kissed her head. "Where are the other two?"

"Upstairs." Bonnie glanced at Damon when he spoke this time, but only for a brief moment.

"Bonnie…" Stefan warned, a hand reaching out to rest on her shoulder. She calmed visibly and sighed.

"Thank you, _Elena._" She bit out, making it clear she hadn't been talking to him, before she jogged upstairs and knocked on the door to the guest bedroom. It seemed people in this household were overly curious, because all four of them lagged behind and waited with her.

It only took a few seconds for the muffled voice to travel through the door, telling them it was okay to enter. Bonnie opened the door slowly and walked in, stopping when she saw what lay before her. Alaric had Jenna's shirt off and was examining a large bruise on her lower back, while she lay on the bed with tear filled eyes and her face towards the wall, a blank look on her face. "What happened?" Bonnie asked abruptly.

"We don't know." Alaric responded. "I was helping her stand, and then she suddenly felt sore. So I told her to let me look and I found this…" He gestures to the bruise, which is the same shape but about twice as big as the one around her neck. "She has the same bruise on her neck, too. But that one is from a dream of being suffocated to death…" Just then, her phone rang again. But she just closed her eyes and didn't move.

"I'll get it." Alaric offered, reaching over and picking up the cell phone off the bedside table. He slid his finger across to take the call and pressed it to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Can I talk to Jenna?" _A smoothe female voice asked on the other end. Ric nodded and handed it to Jenna.

"It's Kelly." Numbly, Jenna reached a hand up and took the phone, trying desperately not to sound as afraid as she really was when she spoke into the receiver.

"Kelly?" But the voice changed. It was that same quiet voice she'd heard when she was packing up to leave the Lake House.

"_Jenna, Jenna, Jenna. You should know by now you can't escape me...I will always find you again! I have to admit, the Salvatore house was a bit of a surprise. I never would have thought you of all people would make it that easy on me. And by the way, that little witch friend of yours won't be able to do anything about it. Just so you know. The magic I use is so far beyond anything she knows, there isn't a grimoir on the face of this Earth that has remnants of my power." _Jenna's face went pale and her hands began to shake. This didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group.

"Jenna?" Elena mumbled weakly.

"_Shut her up. Make them leave, all of them! I want you to myself." _

"What do you want from me?" Jenna asked weakly.

"_Just make them leave. Or you'll wake up with a missing daughter, understood?!" _Teats once again filled Jenna's eyes, and she did as she was told. _"Good. Now, I want you to listen very closely. I need you and Jess to go back to the Lake House. She left something there, and I need it." _Jenna's confidence grew at the mention of her daughter.

"Go to hell!" And with that, she hung up the phone.

_**Look at that! Chapter four, already! This is where the fun starts :3 strap in, kids! This is gonna be a bumpy ride! Don't forget to post a review! They make me happy! **_


	5. Chapter 5

It had been three months, and not a single word had been heard from Jenna's stalker, for lack of a better term. They'd moved into a new house, settled back down, and Jenna was even starting to sleep at night. She felt safe again, for the first time. Until that night…

Alaric woke up with a start. The first thing he noticed was Jenna wasn't in bed with him. And the second thing was the intense pulsating pounding that was emanating from downstairs. With nearly inhuman speed, Ric was out of bed and running down the stairs. The pulsating grew stronger, and louder. No matter how loud he shouted now, he couldn't hear himself speak. Looking around, he saw no sign of Jenna. But what he did see shocked him beyond belief.

Jess, his perfect, innocent little Jess was standing in the middle of the living room, looking up at something he couldn't see. "Jess!" He shouted, but it was as if the sound never even passed his lips. A glowing began then, and the pulsating grew faint, but didn't subside. "Jess!" This time, she whirled around to look at him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm talking to Trevor…" Suddenly, the pulsating grew strong again. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again…" Jess cried out, spinning back around and backing up into her father.

"Jess, who's Trevor?!" _And why the hell is he attacking my wife?! _

"I don't know...he's just Trevor!" More pulsating, but now Jess shrieked and clutched at the elephant, tipping her head and sobbing into the toy in her arms. Quickly, Ric collected Jess into his arms and made a beeline for the door. He thought he heard the faint sound of a phone ringing through the upstairs bedroom window, but didn't care. He set Jess down on the neighbor's lawn and told her to stay put while he went back for Jenna.

But when he entered the house, everything was silent once again. Jenna came down the stairs and looked around, clearly confused. "Why are you up this early?" She mumbled out, walking over to him.

"Why am _I _up this early? Why were _you_ up this early?" Jenna gave him a confused look. "I woke up and you were gone! And I came downstairs and there was this weird pounding, or something and Jess was talking to someone named Trevor." Once again, the pulsating sounded. But it didn't seem to faze Jenna. "Don't you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The pounding!"

"What pounding? Ric, there is no-" A shrill scream sounded from outside. Both of them ran out as fast as they could, but they were too late. Jess was gone…

_**Ugh, another filler. It'll get better soon, I promise! Don't forget to drop a line! :D**_


	6. Chapter 6

Jenna sat crossleged on the couch of the boarding house. She stared blankly at the floor, not really seeing anything, just staring.

"How did you not hear it? It was so loud, I literally couldn't hear myself yell!"

Jenna shook her head. "I don't know. I just didn't, okay? I don't know why, and I don't know how...I just _couldn't. Hear it._" A tear escaped her eye, but she quickly wiped it away. She didn't want to cry now. Not when her baby was out there, scared and alone, and she should be doing something other than crying. But what could she do? She didn't know how to help. Because there was nothing she could do but wait.

Alaric had the stuffed elephant in his hands and was examining it. She didn't have that Elephant until after all of this started, and as far as he knows, no one he trusts gave it to her. Jenna watched it as he turned it in his hands, probing and prodding for any extra seams. But there were no. Finally, in a fit of hopeless rage, he threw the elephant against the wall across from him and ran a hand through his already mussed hair.

"_Can you feel it?" _A soft, quiet, childlike voice called from near the wall. Jenna froze, her breath catching in her throat and her gaze locked on the elephant. _"Can you feel it?" _Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her entire body. Shocks of bright white pain, blinding her. She couldn't cry out, though. _"Can you feel it?" _The voice was stronger now, more fearsome. And it seemed as if it was coming closer, yet the doll stayed put. _"Can you feel it?!" _The voice was thicker, and more hoarse. No longer a childs persona, but that of a monstrous heathen. _"CAN YOU FEEL IT?!" _It was right in her ear now, shouting and breathing against her overheated skin. She was vaguely aware of someone shaking her, but she couldn't seem to respond. _"CAN YOU FEEL IT?!" _Once more, the voice sounded from beside her. And Logan's figure appeared before her. He laughed, and it seemed his hands were glowing with the same light she characterized with the pain.

"_CAN. YOU. FEEL. IT?!" _She jerked, physically and mentally, and curled in on herself. No longer aware of the movements she was being forced into by someone else, probably trying to wake her from her trance. All remnants of human life were gone. There was only pain and fear.

"_I'll make you FEEL IT!" _The last shout. And then it was all gone. The boarding house filled with Jenna's screams. Some of pain, some of fear, other's of loneliness. She writhed on the couch uncontrollably, her limbs going stiff and then loosening repeatedly. The pain was short lived from that point on. Her screams had died down by the time Bonnie and Elena made it to the living room, and she was just laying there, staring up at the ceiling.

_**Not as long as I was hoping. The next chapter will be better, I swear! Don't forget to review! :) **_


	7. Chapter 7

Weeks passed. Jenna didn't speak, and there was no word of Jess. Slowly, they all came to terms with the idea that they may never see her again. But that didn't stop them from trying. Everyday, Bonnie did a locator spell. They realized pretty quickly that it wasn't just some drive by kidnapping. Because she was clearly being hidden by some other worldly form of magic.

After so long, Ric became fed up. With everything. He just wanted his little girl back. Even if Jenna was never the same again, as long as she was alive and he got to hold them in his arms again, it would be okay. So he approached Jenna, wondering if he could get anything out of her about what she saw. He didn't have to ask a thing, it seemed. Because she looked up at him, and for the first time in three weeks, he saw determination gleaming in the depths of her green eyes.

"Jenna?"

"I think it's Logan...I don't know how. But I just know it has to be him." Tears filled her eyes, making them shine with something else aside from determination. "Ric, he was there every time. The first phone call I got at the Lake House, I heard him laughing. And in my dream, when I died _he _was the one that was talking to me, and then three weeks ago, when….Ric, he was the one who caused the pain."

Alaric frowned and sat down next to her. "What pain?" He could see it, the reservation slowly dimming the light in her eyes. "Jenna, please. I need to know what happened...what pain?"

Jenna shook her head. "I don't know...it was just pain. I couldn't move, or breathe or ask for help at first but I've never felt anything like it in my entire life." Tears were now falling from her eyes without interruption, and she was shaking her head every few words. "And I saw Logan, and there was this light in his hands. And it looked like how the pain felt..and someone was asking me if I felt it. Just like at the Lake House, but it was loud, and insistent, and repetitive. I don't know how to explain it…"

Alaric nodded and pulled her into his chest, wrapping both arms protectively around her and resting his chin on top of her head. "I need to tell Bonnie all of this…" He mumbled quietly. "She did a few locator spells, and found out that Jess's location is being protected by magic. If it;s really Logan that's doing this, I'm betting that he's not smart enough to use that same magic on himself, and we might at least get closer to finding her."

Jenna nodded weakly, returning back to her comfortable silence. Alaric hoped it as only for the time being, because he wasn't sure if he could watch her go through all of it alone like that.

_Twenty minutes later…_

Bonnie walked into the living room and spotted the couple now fast asleep on the couch. A small, sad smile graced her lips. They'd been through so much already...if only they could just find their daughter and be done with all of this once and for all. These past months had been hard on everyone, but she couldn't imagine what they must have been like to be the targets of all the terror inflicted on them all.

"Bonnie?" Stefan asked as he walked in behind her. The witch turned around to face him and let the sad smile linger. "Hey. FInd anything yet?"

Bonnie shook her head and turned back to Jenna and Alaric's sleeping forms with a sad sigh. "Not yet…" Stefan nodded and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Hey...we'll find her. And we'll get rid of whatever is doing this to them...and then everything will be okay again."

A long moment of silence drug on for what seemed like forever before Bonnie chose to respond. "For us. But not for them...they'll never be the same again. I'd be surprised if jenna ever got a decent night's sleep again for the rest of her life. They're going to have to live with first hand memories of what went on all this time...and we'll only be able to know what it's like to see it from the outside. Our windows are tinted, Stefan. We're not seeing the whole picture…" A frown formed on Bonnie's face then, and something hit her. "The whole picture...Oh, my God!" Quickly, she let go of Stefan's hand and rushed over to where the elephant still lay on the ground. It seemed to be more tattered than when Ric had been looking at it three weeks ago. No one had bothered to move it, or touch it. But the moment Bonnie's skin came in contact with the children's toy, she saw something very different than the world in front of her.

_A man stood before her. Aman she recognized to be none other than Logan Fell. _

Jenna's sleep became more restless, a frown forming in her brow and spreading to turn her lips downward as she shifted away from Ric.

"_Bennett!" Logan shouted angrily. "You don't know what you've just done…" _

Jenna's eyes flew open, a gasp breaking through her lips as she jumped and scrambled to the other end of the couch. Bonnie had dropped the elephant by now and was already on the other side of the room, staring at it with wide eyes.

Stefan was at her side in a moment, both hands on her face, trying to get her to focus on him. "Bonnie! Bonnie, can you hear me? Bonnie, answer me!"

The witch looked up at him now, her mouth hanging open. "That _wasn't_ Logan…"

_**I know what you're thinking. You're thinking 'Um…..what? Who could it have been?' and some of you might even be thinking Silas. Just wait, you'll see ;) I have big plans for this story. I think you'll like it. As always, drop a line and tell me what you think!**_


	8. Chapter 8

"What do you mean, it wasn't Logan?" Jenna asked when she'd calmed down enough to let Ric check for any new bruises or injuries.

"It looked like him...but it wasn't him. I think someone is using his form to mess with you, Jenna…"

The strawberry blonde's frown deepened and she shook her head. "But why?" She got nothing more than a faint shrug and apologetic look from Bonnie in response. Jenna nodded and sighed, running a hand through the hair that had escaped her messy bun and spread over her forehead. "We still need to find a way to locate Jess….I can't give up on her. She needs me."

Bonnie nodded. "I know. I'm going to use the elephant. She told Damon and Elena someone named Trevor gave it to her, but wouldn't let her name it. Which means he probably still considers it his possession, so we might be able to find him that way."

Jenna nodded in response and visibly relaxed, or deflated. No one in the room could really tell. But she didn't look hopeless anymore, and that's all any of them could ask for. "Where's Elena?"

"Her and Damon went to get some things for the spell. Bonnie ran out of supplies with the last one." Stefan responded for Bonnie.

Again, Jenna nodded, and sat down on the couch. She was clearly exhausted, no doubt from the lack of sleep she'd been getting at night. "Why don't you and Ric go get some rest? We'll be okay waiting alone, and we can wake you up when we have the results of the spell." Bonnie offered.

Jenna bit her lip and looked down at her lap, unsure if she should sleep right now, no matter how desperately she needed it. "It'll be okay, Jenna. Stefan and Bonnie will wake us up when they know more and we can get some sleep for awhile. You need it...and so do I." Finally convinced, Jenna nodded and stood from the couch, allowing Ric to take her hand and lead her upstairs and into the guest bedroom.

"_You did this…" A voice whispered as Jenna looked around the boarding house, seemingly full of people but none of them noticing her. "You did it...how could you do this?!" _

"_Do what? I don't understand what I did…" A sharp slap echoed through the boarding house and Jenna's head turned with the force. _

Alaric was aware that she wasn't sleeping well. Mostly because he wasn't sleeping at all, and because she was whimpering every few moments in her sleep. But when a strangled cry escaped her lips and her head jerked to face him, he knew that..._thing_ was at it again.

Desperate to keep her from having to experience any more, he sat up in bed and shook her shoulders gently. "Jenna, ake up!"

_Jenna reached up and held the side of her face, slowly turning back to face the mass of people that seemed to have doubled in the instant her attention was elsewhere. "I don't understand what I did wrong!" She screamed out, hoping one of them would hear her. _

_A miracle. Someone did. A small girl with strawberry blonde curls turned to face her. "Jess? Jess!" Jenna bolted after her, but the girl just grinned and turned to run from her. Giggles echoed off the walls quietly, and Jenna struggled to keep up. "Jess, come back! Please, come back to me!" But her daughter was gone. Again. _

_She crumpled to her knees, wrapping both arms around her torso. "I'm sorry! Jess, I'm so sorry, please come back! Please!" A figured appeared in front of her, and Jenna looked up. "What-" But she didn't have the words to continue. It's face...that was it's face. Evil. There was no other way she could describe it. It was as if he'd taken pieces of people's _souls_ and sewn them together to make his face...there was no blood. No flesh...just faces crammed together, all with fear or disgrace written on their faces. But together, the expression was...unreadable. _

Jenna's breathing grew heavier, and Ric feared he was losing her. "Jenna! Wake up, damnit!" He shook her again, but nothing happened.

_She felt the hand again. But this time, it was caressing instead of hurting. "What are you doing?" She asked, confused. _

"_I loved you...why couldn't you just let me love you?" He slapped her again, and this time she cried out in pain. _

Ric heard the sob that escaped her throat and panicked even more. "Jenna, don't you dare die on me! Come on! Wake up!"

_She felt as if someone was shaking her from the inside. But she couldn't make herself respond. "Who are you?!" She asked, desperate for this all to end. _

"_You never let me love you! WHY?!" Another slap, and now the hand was strangling her again, lifting her to her feet and dangling her inches from the ground. She clawed at it, but it wasn't there. "All I wanted is your love….why did you refuse?" He flung Jenna through the crowd, which had diminished to just a few dancers and some people conversing. But now, they did notice. And it was no longer the Boarding house, but a club. _

Jenna was gone. Not figuratively...literally. She'd completely disappeared right out from under his panicked gaze. It had started slowly, becoming harder to find her shoulders to grip them. She'd continued to fade until there was nothing left, and he was clutching at air. "Jenna….?" Nothing. "Bonnie! Stefan!" He ran from the room and flew down the stairs, almost certain he'd twist his ankle and break it but he couldn't care less. "She's gone!"

Bonnie looked up at him in alarm. Damon and Elena had returned, and there was a pile of ashes on the kitchen table. "What do you mean?" Elena asked, her voice rising in panic.

"Jenna...she's gone! I was trying to wake her up from her dream, and she...she just disappeared! Into thin air, _literally_!" Bonnie's face went pale. Or, as pale as it could, and she stared at him. "I know who it is…" Everyone turned to look at her, and a single word passed her lips. "Silas."

_**Your suspicions have risen. I know. But believe me, it's nothing like what you think. Stay tuned, and drop a line! **_


	9. Chapter 9

"Silas? But...he's in the tomb!" Stefan frowned when Bonnie shook her head.

"It's him. There's only one being on the face of the Earth who can teleport someone through a dream."

Ric knew who Silas was. He also knew there couldn't be a single reason for him to go after Jenna...could there? "Why Jenna?"

"Because it's an easy way to get into our lives. Something he can take from us to make us see this isn't a game. He's messing with her, scaring her. And then he'll kill her, slowly. But I'm betting he'll kill Jess first…"

Ric's jaw clenched. "Where are they?"

"Ric, be reasonable-"

"Where are they?!" He wouldn't listen. Not to Bonnie, or to Damon, or Stefan, or even Elena. "Tell me!"

"We don't know! The spell didn't work...it just burnt the elephant to a crisp and knocked a few things off the table." Bonnie responded finally. "It didn't work…"

"FIne." Ric walked over to the ashen toy and picked up a handful of it. "You want to screw with me? With my family? Fine! But you better be ready for hell to break loose." He was looking around the room with the fist full of dust held in the air. "Bring my wife and daughter back, or I'll raise a few beasts of my own and send you back where you came from."

They all knew he was bluffing. Or maybe just going crazy...but they couldn't blame him. Jenna and Jess were literally they only thing he had left in this world. Bonnie felt guilty. Because she should be doing more to help him...she should have been honest about the spell's success. But he was clearly in no state to defend himself, let alone his wife and daughter, against a hybrid as powerful as Silas.

Bonnie looked down and sighed, biting her lip. She couldn't put him in danger like that. He'd promised to help fix this, and if that meant leaving Ric in the dark to protect him, then that's what she would do.

_Three days later…_

Jenna curled in on herself in the club. It was empty now, and she was alone. "Hello!" She called out. "Anybody?" No one replied. Because no one was there.

Of course she'd tried to walk through the doors. But she was trapped by a barrier that seemed to apply to her, and her alone. Everyone else was able to walk out freely, but she wasn't.

The form appeared in front of her again. It had come every day at the same time, and asked the same question. "Can you love me now?" But she shook her head every time and daggers at him. This time, for some reason, was different. When she looked up, it wasn't the face of a thousand souls, but Logan's. His eyes seemed to hold sorrow and regret.

"I'm sorry, Jenna...I heard about your nephew. I can't imagine how that must feel." _Jeremy? _That's _what he's sorry about? Not for getting her into this? Not for tormenting her so terribly? Not for setting that...thing on her? Just her nephew's death…?_

"Go to hell, Logan." But he only repeated the same thing, over and over. A frown formed on her face. "Logan?"

"Jenna….look. I know you hate my guts right now, But maybe we can work things out."

"What the hell are you talking about, Logan?"

"Don't be like this!" He shook his head and scoffed at her. "I gave you _everything!_ Why couldn't you just let me love you? That's all I wanted!" His voice changed before his figure. Now, standing in front of her, was a man she'd never seen before. But the voice was the same raspy female voice that had been on the very first call.

"Who are you?" An inhuman cackle sounded out, seeming to come from all around her.

"I'm everything. I'm your worst fear!"

"Why me?" For some odd reason, Jenna wasn't afraid anymore. But a slap across her face changed that, if only a little.

"I've told you!" He screamed in her face. "I LOVE YOU! Why can't you love me back?!"

"I don't even know who you are!" Jenna shouted back. But this did nothing to help the situation. Because in moments, she was alone again. She slumped against the wall she'd been sitting against and dropped her head into her hands.

_**We're getting closer to the climax. You'll see, it'll really surprise you. **_


	10. Chapter 10

Damon woke up the next morning with a heavy heart. They'd been lying to his best friend for four days. They'd only just figured out their plans last night, and were to execute it today. He dressed slowly, a numb kind of distance in his eyes. "Damon?" Elena's voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he turned to the brunette beauty in his bed.

"It's okay. We'll all be alright, just stay here and make sure Ric doesn't go anywhere." Elena nodded and rolled over, curling further into the blankets. After he knew she was asleep, and padded his way into the living room, his thoughts racing. _What if I was in Ric's shoes? _An absent minded glance was thrown over his shoulder and up the stairs, listening for Elena's heart beat pattern without thinking about it. _What if my entire world was on the line, and no one was letting me try to save it…_"I think we should let Ric come if he wants to."

"What?" Bonnie asked, clearly not in agreeance with this idea. "Are you insane? He'd get us all killed!"

"What if it was Stefan?" Finally, Damon turned back to face her. "What if Stefan was the one out there, and everyone was keeping you in the dark? He should be allowed to make his own decisions in this. It's not just his family, Bonnie. It's his _life_. The only thing keeping him sane, he wouldn't sabotage that on some stupid hero act. He's smarter than that, and you know it!"

Bonnie sighed. "Damon-"

"I want to come…" Ric mumbled from the stairs behind Damon. "He's right. I'm smarter than that...I've known since yesterday you weren't being honest. I want to come."

Bonnie sighed, and was about to protest when Stefan interrupted her. "I would want to go if it was you, Bonnie. And you know you would want to see me in the group that came to save you. Jenna's going to want him there when we find her, she's going to need him. Come on...it'll be okay."

Bonnie sighed and nodded, turning her gaze back to the other two. "You know the plan?"

"Yes. I was eavesdropping…" Ric shrugs nonchalantly. "I planned on following you anyway."

Bonnie sighed dramatically and turned towards the front door. "Somebody get Elena. I'm not leaving her here alone."

Damon rolled his eyes and ran upstairs.

When they arrived at their destination, after a three and a half hour drive, they all stood in the front and stared at it. An old warehouse. "How typical." Damon muttered, turning his lips to the side and looking around at everyone. "This guy's got no taste at all!"

"Damon, just shut up…" Ruc muttered. He was too close to let that dick ruin it for him, no matter how good of friends they were.

"I'm just saying." Damon mumbled defensively, but everyone ignored him. "Are you going inside, or would you rather wait until we can hear her screaming for mercy?" Damon lifted a brow and glanced at Ric, who glared daggers at him.

"Just shut. up!" Bonnie burst out, glaring over at Damon. "we don't even know how to get in yet." Damon rolled his eyes and pried the garage door open with his super strength, turning a smirk to them all. "Didn't seem so hard to me."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and stomped into the warehouse, but as soon as she did, her surroundings changed. "What the hell?" She was standing in the middle of a vacant strip club. Or...a club in general. A rustling in the corner captured her attention and she turned to see what it is. "Jess! Oh, my Gosh!" The little girl screamed her name and ran into her arms, silent sobs shaking her tiny form.

A sound from another room startled the witch. It was a muffled pounding and it made her jerk in the direction, but Jess didn't seem to be bothered. "That's where they put mommy…" Bonnie frowned and looked at the blonde girl in her arms. "She can't get out. They keep her there, and sometimes she screams…" Jess's voice died down as he chin began to quiver uncontrollably, fat tears welling in her eyes and spilling over. "They hurted her…."

Bonnie quickly rushed to the door and tried to open it, with no success. "Jenna!" A muffled sound that almost sounded like 'Bonnie?' came from behind it. "Jenna! Don't go anywhere, okay? I'm gonna see if I can get-" At that moment, Stefan burst into the room, dragging both Damon and Alaric on either arm. Bonnie turned and stared at them in shock.

"Bonnie!" Stefan shouted, at the exact second that Ric said, "Jess!" Both of them ran over at the same time, Ric pulling the four-year-old from Bonnie's hold and Stefan wrapping Bonnie in a tight hug. Another muffled sound came from the other side of the door, but this time it sounded distressed, and afraid.

"Jenna!" Bonnie shouted, but there was no reply.

_Moments before…._

Jenna heard the talking on the other side of the door, and her heart swelled. Maybe she really _was_ going to get out of here. So distracted, was she, with the sounds of people being found finally on the other side, that she didn't notice the all too familiar figure stalking towards her from behind. But before she could even turn around, he'd grabbed her by the arm and twisted it until a loud, grueling _SNAP_ resonated through the room. Jenna let out a cry of pain, falling to her knees as the piercing pain traveled from her shoulder and throughout her entire arm. But he didn't release his hold, and before she could say anymore, he'd already reached into her chest from behind and squeezed her heart until it gave out.

_**Bum, bum, buuuuuuuuuuuum! I cried writing this chapter...I hope you're all happy with the sacrifices I make to entertain you. **__***wipes a lingering tear away* **_


	11. Chapter 11

Damon woke up the next morning with a heavy heart. They'd been lying to his best friend for four days. They'd only just figured out their plans last night, and were to execute it today. He dressed slowly, a numb kind of distance in his eyes. "Damon?" Elena's voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he turned to the brunette beauty in his bed.

"It's okay. We'll all be alright, just stay here and make sure Ric doesn't go anywhere." Elena nodded and rolled over, curling further into the blankets. After he knew she was asleep, and padded his way into the living room, his thoughts racing. _What if I was in Ric's shoes? _An absent minded glance was thrown over his shoulder and up the stairs, listening for Elena's heart beat pattern without thinking about it. _What if my entire world was on the line, and no one was letting me try to save it…_"I think we should let Ric come if he wants to."

"What?" Bonnie asked, clearly not in agreeance with this idea. "Are you insane? He'd get us all killed!"

"What if it was Stefan?" Finally, Damon turned back to face her. "What if Stefan was the one out there, and everyone was keeping you in the dark? He should be allowed to make his own decisions in this. It's not just his family, Bonnie. It's his _life_. The only thing keeping him sane, he wouldn't sabotage that on some stupid hero act. He's smarter than that, and you know it!"

Bonnie sighed. "Damon-"

"I want to come…" Ric mumbled from the stairs behind Damon. "He's right. I'm smarter than that...I've known since yesterday you weren't being honest. I want to come."

Bonnie sighed, and was about to protest when Stefan interrupted her. "I would want to go if it was you, Bonnie. And you know you would want to see me in the group that came to save you. Jenna's going to want him there when we find her, she's going to need him. Come on...it'll be okay."

Bonnie sighed and nodded, turning her gaze back to the other two. "You know the plan?"

"Yes. I was eavesdropping…" Ric shrugs nonchalantly. "I planned on following you anyway."

Bonnie sighed dramatically and turned towards the front door. "Somebody get Elena. I'm not leaving her here alone."

Damon rolled his eyes and ran upstairs.

When they arrived at their destination, after a three and a half hour drive, they all stood in the front and stared at it. An old warehouse. "How typical." Damon muttered, turning his lips to the side and looking around at everyone. "This guy's got no taste at all!"

"Damon, just shut up…" Ruc muttered. He was too close to let that dick ruin it for him, no matter how good of friends they were.

"I'm just saying." Damon mumbled defensively, but everyone ignored him. "Are you going inside, or would you rather wait until we can hear her screaming for mercy?" Damon lifted a brow and glanced at Ric, who glared daggers at him.

"Just shut. up!" Bonnie burst out, glaring over at Damon. "we don't even know how to get in yet." Damon rolled his eyes and pried the garage door open with his super strength, turning a smirk to them all. "Didn't seem so hard to me."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and stomped into the warehouse, but as soon as she did, her surroundings changed. "What the hell?" She was standing in the middle of a vacant strip club. Or...a club in general. A rustling in the corner captured her attention and she turned to see what it is. "Jess! Oh, my Gosh!" The little girl screamed her name and ran into her arms, silent sobs shaking her tiny form.

A sound from another room startled the witch. It was a muffled pounding and it made her jerk in the direction, but Jess didn't seem to be bothered. "That's where they put mommy…" Bonnie frowned and looked at the blonde girl in her arms. "She can't get out. They keep her there, and sometimes she screams…" Jess's voice died down as he chin began to quiver uncontrollably, fat tears welling in her eyes and spilling over. "They hurted her…."

Bonnie quickly rushed to the door and tried to open it, with no success. "Jenna!" A muffled sound that almost sounded like 'Bonnie?' came from behind it. "Jenna! Don't go anywhere, okay? I'm gonna see if I can get-" At that moment, Stefan burst into the room, dragging both Damon and Alaric on either arm. Bonnie turned and stared at them in shock.

"Bonnie!" Stefan shouted, at the exact second that Ric said, "Jess!" Both of them ran over at the same time, Ric pulling the four-year-old from Bonnie's hold and Stefan wrapping Bonnie in a tight hug. Another muffled sound came from the other side of the door, but this time it sounded distressed, and afraid.

"Jenna!" Bonnie shouted, but there was no reply.

_Moments before…._

Jenna heard the talking on the other side of the door, and her heart swelled. Maybe she really _was_ going to get out of here. So distracted, was she, with the sounds of people being found finally on the other side, that she didn't notice the all too familiar figure stalking towards her from behind. But before she could even turn around, he'd grabbed her by the arm and twisted it until a loud, grueling _SNAP_ resonated through the room. Jenna let out a cry of pain, falling to her knees as the piercing pain traveled from her shoulder and throughout her entire arm. But he didn't release his hold, and before she could say anymore, he'd already reached into her chest from behind and squeezed her heart until it gave out.

_**Bum, bum, buuuuuuuuuuuum! I cried writing this chapter...I hope you're all happy with the sacrifices I make to entertain you. **__***wipes a lingering tear away* **_


	12. Chapter 12

Bonnie. How did they not see it? She was always there. Lurking. Watching. learning. _Plotting_. Plotting against them. Was she some kind of vampire killing fiend, or something? Whatever it was, they didn't see it coming. They'd trusted her. Stefan and Elena, the most. And she'd been using that trust to get exactly what she wanted…

"Hey, at least we're all together." Damon offered in an attempt to lift the long faces surrounding him. His attempts were met by silence. "And not dead."

"Damon, stop." Elena whispered, and all was silent again.

The silence dragged on until the loud scraping in the warehouse(the club had been the rouse, and not the warehouse. Damon had made a comment about her being original, at least, when the scenery had changed) of the door being forced open sounded. Jenna looked up, followed by Jess and Ric and everyone else, to see Bonnie looking the way she had before. "Trevor wants to see you. He says it's important." She was looking directly at Jenna, but the strawberry blonde made no move to follow her.

"Tell him I'm _not_ interested. For the last time." Bonnie nodded solemnly.

"I hope you know he always gets what he wants."

"Is that why you're doing this?" Stefan asked without thinking. But Bonnie just giggled and shook her head. "No, silly! I'm doing it because he offered me incredible power. At first, I was pretty humble about it. I didn't use it more than I absolutely had to. But then I started to see things the way he does, and it changed. That's when I started doing his bidding and scaring Jenna."

"That was you?" Jenna asked, shocked and somewhat hurt.

"Not all of it. Logan and the elephant were. The rest was Trevor."

Ric glared daggers at her, unable to contain himself.. "We trusted you!"

"Exactly. That's why he chose me. I was less likely to betray you than anyone else on the sidelines. He considered Matt. Jeremy, too. But then he died, and I was next in line."

"Silas hasn't really risen, has he?" Damon asked with a glare, to which Bonnie shook her head.

"Just go. Tell _Trevor _he's not getting what he wants willingly." Jenna spat, turning her gaze away. Bonnie simply shrugged and left the room, forgetting to close the door behind her.

Everyone in the room stared. "That couldn't have been accidental…"

"Is she helping us?" Damon mumbled.

"_I'd use the opportunity before he finds you." _Bonnie sends mentally. _"His mood isn't going to improve any when he finds out Jenna said no. Go, I'll take care of him and get out on my own. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."_ And then it was silent once again.

_**Surprise, surprise! It's not **__**really**__** Bonnie. She's just a double agent :) see? I'm not THAT evil xD**_


	13. Chapter 13

Jenna ran down the narrow corridor, followed by the rest of the group. "Where are we going?" Damon asked from the back.

"Don't know." Ric said in response. "Away? Like Bonnie told us."

"Away how?"

"Enough questions. Just go!" Stefan shouted, almost bumping into him as the last person in the single file line.

_Jenna turned a corner suddenly and went in a new direction. _

Ric followed Jenna, Jess falling asleep in his arms.

_Alaric, seeming to follow behind Jenna from the looks of how sudden his movement was, turned a corner and ran down a different, narrower hallway. _

Elena followed Ric effortlessly, looking back and suddenly realizing Damon and Stefan were gone. "Damon? Stefan?" She turned again, and Ric was missing, as well. "Ric! Jenna?!" Fear gripped her stomach in a tight, icy grip. _Where are they? _

Jenna stopped when the extra footsteps disappeared and no one seemed to be following her. She turned swiftly and saw that she was, in fact, completely alone. "Hello?" She turned and kept running, thinking they might have gotten ahead without her notice.

She turned her head to look behind her when the snap of a whip echoed from behind and ran into a large bulky figure. Jenna fell to the concrete floor and looked up at the man standing above her. _Trevor. _She thought to herself.

"Hello, Jenna. It's nice to finally meet you in person. I understand you've refused my minions many times…" Jenna didn't answer. "Silence. What a shame...you had such a pretty face." Trevor reached down and collected her into his arms, something that proved to be rather difficult as she struggled and squirmed to get free. A scream escaped her chest when her tossed her back on the ground and landed a stiff blow to her lower back with his thick, leather-boot-covered foot.

The sound resonated through the concrete maze, ringing in RIc's ears and waking Jess. Everyone heard it, and quickly rushed to help. "Shut up!" Trevor shouted, grabbing her by the arm and lifting her upper body off the floor.

"Who are you?" Jenna pleaded, her chin quivering.

"I'm not a who." His form changed, no doubt into it's true shape, and revealed an old, rotting corpse that smelled of death. "I'm a _what_."

Jenna screamed again and struggled in his hold, but he just slapped her across the face. She took the moment of freedom with one arm to pry his other hand off of her and run. She didn't stop until she reached the nearest door. She hadn't locked but moments ago when the pounding began.

Ric pounded on the door repeatedly, calling Jenna's name.

_Jenna curled into the corner, listening to the pounding and the deep, frightening voice yelling for her. This was it. She wouldn't survive if he go in…_

"Jenna! Come on, open up! Can you hear me?"

_From somewhere in her peripheral, Jenna heard Jess's wails and pleas for her mother to wake up. Wake up...what? _

"Jenna!" He pounded again, but the door wouldn't budge.

Jenna woke with a deep, startled gasp. She sat bolt upright and looked around. She was home, in her bed, with Jess sitting beside her, crying for her to wake up. The sounds of Ric pounding on the door and calling her name were evident, as well.

Jenna let out a deep sigh. _Just a dream..._She got up and went to open the door, noticing the array of things on the floor. _What the hell? _She moved a large tub from in front of the door and opened it, greeting a distressed looking Alaric. "What happened?" She blurted out, just as the very words were about to pass his lips.

He would have scoffed, and turned the question on her. Had the utter confusion, and slight fear not been spread all over her face and shining in her eyes. "There was an Earthquake. I came downstairs to check the door, and heard you fall when it started."

Jenna nodded. It all made sense now. Just a stupid dream. She'd bumped her head on the headboard of their bed and had a bad dream. "Oh...I'm sorry if I scared you."

Ric just shook his head and sighed. "It's okay." He glanced over at the still sobbing 2-year-old on their bed and sauntered over to comfort her, lifting her into his arms and rubbing her back. Still a little confused and dazed, Jenna made her way back to bed and lay down. The lack of sunlight made it clear that she'd either dreamed the entire thing, or slept through the day from the Earthquake on. Whatever it was, she just wanted to forget her dream and get some more sleep. Strangely, she felt exhausted. Drained, as if the events in her dream had actually tapped into her energy supply. After they'd finally calmed Jess down enough to get her to curl up with Jenna and fall asleep, they all laid down and curled up in a big family ball in the middle of the bed. Just before Jenna's eyes closed all the way and she fell back to sleep, a whisper sounded throughout the room.

"_Can you feel it…?" _Jenna's eyes flew open, and she stared at the wall.

_**This, my friends, is where I say farewell. I had fun writing this. But there won't be a part two. No...I don't have the inspiration for that. I leave it to your imagination :)**_


End file.
